Budget HotHatch Am I too ambitious??

[cheech5765]

Hay folks

I am in the market for a hot-hatch and I am looking around the £3000 mark possibly push upto £4000 at a later date. Previously I had a Clio 182 which was great but I am looking towards possibly a astra VXR. Am I being abit ambitious for my budget?

I welcome any other suggestions if anyone has any.

Thanks

[RSTurboPaul]

What was the reason you got rid of the 182?

What are you looking for the new car to do / be?

IMHO the Astra will be less fun to drive than the Clio and not as agile.

[MorganP104]

If high mileage doesn't worry you, the MkV Golf GTi is worth a look at £3k. Upping the budget to £4k will get you a low/average mile GTi. Don't be tempted by the MkIV GTi... They are cheap for a reason (i.e. slow, and crap to drive).

Whilst not the last word in hot hatches, the Focus ST170 is a nice motor - three grand will get you the best out there. Your budget won't stretch to a later ST or RS, unfortunately.

If you can put up with how it looks, how about a RenaultSport Megane? Plenty of those knocking around at £3k.

The Pug 306 GTi-6 is a slightly more retro choice, but like the ST170, £3k will get you a really, really nice one.

On the off-chance you fancy going leftfield, £3k will net you a properly decent Mazda RX-8, with all the usual problems fixed (ones that haven't had work done generally go for £1,500-£2,000).

[GreatGranny]

Looking at Atrader looks like you will need closer to £4k to get a decent one with sensible mileage.

eg.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

How about a 197?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?sort=price-...

[cheech5765]

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

To be honest after having a look I am being drawn to the 197 especially for whats out there for my budget.

I would love to get a rx-8 always wanted one but the work and maintenance is a real put off for me I could as suggested find one that has been worked on so thats also a possibility.